Jayhawks lose one player, close to gaining another

Posted by John Taylor on August 25, 2012, 5:33 PM EST

Getty Images

There was positive and not-so-positive news on the personnel front for first-year Kansas head coach Charlie Weis.

In a statement, Weis announced that linebacker Jon Shelby had decided to leave the football program for what was described as personal reasons. Shelby had transferred from the JUCO ranks to the Jayhawks this past offseason, and was fighting for a backup job at LB on the most recent depth chart.

That’s the not-so-good news. The good news? The addition of some much-needed defensive line help is imminent.

Weis said in the same statement that defensive tackle Ty McKinney, another JUCO transfer, will graduate from Trinity Valley Community College Sept. 7 and will head immediately to Kansas. The program is already in the process of making plans to get the lineman up to speed as quickly as possible both academically and football-wise.

“Our academic support staff is working to create a schedule so that as soon as Ty arrives he can catch up academically,” Weis said in a statement. “Once his academic situation is in order, he will get up to speed in football. There is no acclimatization period that Ty must fulfill, as far as practice is concerned.”

With KU’s opener Sept. 1, McKinney will obviously miss the first game of the season as well as most likely the second as well, which is Sept. 8.